Rahul Gandhi in US: I am first person in India to be given highest punishment in defamation case; it's a gift
"Nobody has been given the maximum sentence for defamation, that too on the first offence. So that should explain what's going on (in India). Interestingly, my disqualification happens after I made a speech about Mr (Gautam) Adani in Parliament," Rahul Gandhi said.
Follow"I am the first person to be given the highest punishment in a defamation case; the first case in Indian history since 1947," said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi while responding to a series of questions during an interaction with the media at the National Press Club in Washington.
On a specific question about the similarities between the situation in Pakistan with that in India, Rahul said, "I had asked a rhetorical question. I asked the question why... I am fighting a court case. But I had asked a rhetorical question. And I am the first person in India to be given the highest punishment in a defamation case; the first case in Indian history since 1947. Nobody has been given the maximum sentence for defamation, that too on the first offence. So that should explain what's going on (in India)."
"Interestingly, my disqualification happens after I made a speech about Mr (Gautam) Adani in Parliament. My disqualification isn’t the most important thing. The most important thingÂ
is that thousands of voices including those from civil society and bureaucracy are being threatened into submission. My disqualification is a gift they have given to me, because it allows me to completely redefine myself," he added.
When asked about the worldwide high levels of popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gandhi said there is a "definite capture of the institutions of the country. There's a definite capture of the press in the country. I'm not convinced that you know, I don't, I don't believe everything I hear."
When asked what his party would do to implement to ensure the rights of minorities in India if it came to power, he said, "India has a very robust system already in place, (but) that system has been weakened...You have to have an independent set of institutions that are not pressurized and controlled. And that's been the norm in India. This is an aberration that is taking place in India...If you say that if Congress came to power that they could quickly be restored, quickly."
On weakening press freedom in India, he said press freedom is very, very critical for democracy.
"It's not just press freedom. It's political access on multiple axis, there is a clamp down on the institutional framework that allowed India to talk, that allowed the Indian people to negotiate... And that structure that allows the negotiation between India's people is coming under pressure, he added.
